I think the guy panicked. I think hit dog, saw the dog suffering, wanted to end its misery, and he panicked. I know animal planet has most of America anthropomorphizing a fucking critter on the planet, but it's a dog.

It was stupid to try to euthanize the the dog in this manner, even worthy of reprimand. However, it's not a case of animal cruelty in so much as he was trying to end the animal suffering. He just went about very, very wrong.